How many times have we got back home after a difficult day and we feel overloaded and stressed out?

Work deadlines, financial difficulties, family problems, these are only some of the causes of stress and un-satisfaction in life.

We are so used to being under pressure and constantly agitated and on the lookout, that stress has nowadays become part of our everyday life.

This is why we often feel many discomforts, which could, in time, affect our health, but we are used to not considering them as warning signs, on the contrary we almost think they are normal.

One for all could be sleeplessness. Let’s ask ourselves if we sleep well, do we wake up relaxed and restored in the mornings or would we like to stay under the covers just a little longer? Did we wake up during the night, did we have nightmares or weird dreams during the night or in the morning, just before opening our eyes?

To wake up and not feel restored or to have dreams that are not pleasant can be one of the first signs that we are over-stressed.

What can we do about it to regain peace and serenity and to sleep better?

There are many paths to follow, though we suggest you try these five methods of relaxation that you can do before you fall asleep, or in any moment during the day to feel better and find some peace within you.

Before we start, remember to switch off your phone, or have it on silent mode. For the next 10 minutes allow yourself to not be available and leave the world outside.

To take some time to meditate is one of the most difficult things to do, because we are so used to fill up our time with productive actions, so deciding to invest even just 10 minutes to not-do, can be a challenge.

Acceptance 

First thing to do is to accept. Accept what is going on in our mind trying not to judge or at least limiting as much as possible the space where judgement takes place.

Accepting what is inside, is the first step towards a real change. If we continue “fighting” ourselves, our habits and continue telling ourselves that we are not enough, we will never be able to really change.

So what we need to do in the beginning is to look with an external eye and simply accept where we are, there is no good or bad.

Say yes to yourself: yes, I am living a very stressful period; yes, it looks like I am wasting my time to meditate, yes I want to change but I can also see my resistance to change; yes, I can’t stand anybody these days; yes I do not like myself; yes, I do not know how to accept myself, yes, I do not sleep well but want to get better; etc.

Saying yes to oneself, in every aspect of one’s life, helps to prepare our subconscious mind for a wider opening, which allows us to change.

Breathing Meditation 

Once we said yes to all of ourselves, we can start with a very simple meditation technique.  Breathing.

Close your eyes, lying down or sitting, just focus on your breath. Place all your senses on your breath and focus on the air that is coming all the way in and then all the way out, all along the way to the lungs and out again. Observe every single detail and stay focused only on the breath.

If we drift away, and the mind goes wandering, just very gently go back to saying yes, I got distracted, and lead it back to the breath.

Continue this for around 5 to 10 minutes.

Visualization 

Another very simple technique is visualization.

My advice is always to start with accepting. Accepting does not mean to leave out the features we don’t like about ourselves, on the contrary, it means accepting all of ourselves.

Looking at ourselves and welcoming ourselves as if we were a friend.

After a couple of deep breaths, let’s imagine we are somewhere where we felt comfortable.

I often imagine I am on a sunny beach, near the sea, or high up in the mountains lying on the grass surrounded by beautiful mountain tops.

Once you are there, activate your senses and feel the wellbeing you felt when you were there. The sea breeze, and the feeling of it on our skin, the sun warming your body, the sand on your feet. Feel the feelings of peace and happiness to be there and look at  how positively it affects your body.

Yin yoga

Yin yoga unifies the breath with few easy postures that help to release the muscles and therefore all the accumulated tensions.

Try 20 minutes of yin yoga before you go to sleep for a week and see if and how you sleep changes.

Gratitude

Once you have chosen the best technique for you in this moment, end your “time for yourself” with a couple of minutes of gratitude for yourselves.

We are always very hard on ourselves and often what we do is not good or enough for us.

So, let’s try to end our relaxation practice by saying thank you to ourselves. Give thanks for having taken a few minutes for ourselves, to have dedicated some time to ourselves and  for keep trying to do so.

Take this word as a mantra and repeat it to yourself, to thank all of your wonderful being.